A budget from a spreadsheet and hope
You price what you can think of and find out about the rest on site.
For owner-builders
Know your budget before you apply for the permit.
An owner-builder carries the builder's risk. Modern GBQ gives you what a builder's estimator would: quantities with the working shown, real supplier prices, trade labour for your area, and every change kept as a version.
- Free to start
- An estimate, not a quote
- Trade labour hours on every line
Sound familiar?
Trades quoting into a vacuum
Without quantities and hours, every trade quote is a different scope and you cannot tell a fair price from a high one.
Prices that move while you build
The number you took to the bank was a guess, and every change since has been another guess on top.
How Modern GBQ helps an owner-builder.
- 1
Describe the build
Site, buildings, storeys, rooms and sizes, and a finish level. Upload your drawings and the AI proposes the rooms for you to confirm.
- 2
See every quantity and hour
Concrete, reinforcement, walls, roofing, finishes and more, each with its working, and the trade labour hours to install it.
- 3
Price it from real sources
Published supplier offers, dated market prices and indicative rates, with trade rates for your locality. Every line says which it used.
- 4
Change it and keep the history
Swap a product, give a reason, re-price. Every version is kept, so you can see what each decision did to the total.
Real supplier prices.
Where a supplier has published a current offer, it prices the line with the supplier's name on it.
Trade labour for your area.
Labour is priced from trade rates for the site's locality, with the hours shown, so you know what a trade's quote should cover.
A catalogue with photos.
Choose tiles, tapware and fittings by what they look like, from Economical to Advanced, and swap any of them.
Builders if you change your mind.
Decide not to build it yourself? Approve the scope and invite verified builders to price it, compared blind.
Why budget on Modern GBQ first.
| Topic | The usual way | With Modern GBQ |
|---|---|---|
| Your budget | The usual wayA spreadsheet of guesses | With Modern GBQQuantities with the working shown |
| Material prices | The usual wayWhatever you were last told | With Modern GBQPublished offers and dated market prices |
| Trade quotes | The usual wayEach on a different scope | With Modern GBQHours and quantities on every line |
| Changes | The usual wayAnother guess on top | With Modern GBQA new version, side by side with the last |
| The permit | The usual wayApplied for on a hunch | With Modern GBQApplied for with a budget you can check |
Plans for owner-builders.
Start free. Plus adds more projects and Detailed estimates for a single build.
Owner-builder questions.
Do I need an owner-builder permit?
In New South Wales a permit is required for owner-builder work above a value set by the state, and conditions apply. The rules change, so check the current requirements on the NSW Government's owner-builder page before you start. Modern GBQ gives you the budget; the permit is between you and the state.
Can I use the estimate in my permit application?
The estimate is yours to print and use as you see fit, with every quantity and price explained. It is an estimate, not a quote, and the state decides what it accepts; check the current requirements.
Does it price the labour as well as the materials?
Yes. Every line prices the material from the best source available and the labour to install it from trade rates for the site's locality, with the hours shown. Labour never blocks an estimate; an unpriced trade contributes zero and says so.
Can I enter my own prices?
Yes. For a quantity you enter, you can type your own unit rate; tick the box if your price includes GST and the platform takes it out before saving.
What does it cost?
You can start free. Plus adds more projects and Detailed estimates. No card is needed to start.
Is the estimate a quote?
No. It is an estimate, not a quote. Trades and suppliers give you quotes; the estimate tells you what they should cover.
Know your budget first.
Free to start. No card needed.